But my fave ‘Curly Sue’ (fringed) tulips seem a tad sombre without any enlivening partners to lift them and ‘Labrador’ (purple/red?) has only added to the gloomy look,

despite its extra frills (above). I also wonder if the bulb supplier may have sent me some ‘Huis Ten Bosch’ tulips which is a pink and cream combination instead of ‘Joint Division’, which leans more to orange and cream (with a fringe on top). Whichever of the two these are, they’ve also come up all stumpy (again!). Will I never learn! A dry spring and I wasn’t out there watering away! Strange that only some of the fringed varieties have come up stumpy though and on further chatting with friend Siew Lee, we reckon the more complex the flower is, the more stressed it is and more susceptible to difficult weather conditions etc. (By the way, there’s also the remains of some chicories in the mix and the odd sparky glimmer of a yellow and red ‘Helmar’ tulip from previous plantings.)

I recently recorded a podcast about tomatoes with Jane Perrone and Alys Fowler for the Guardian (a jolly good listen should you be interested in all things tomato by the way) and Jane admitted her disappointment when, on occasion, her home-grown tomatoes haven’t tasted that great at the end of summer, despite all her efforts. All that’s how I feel about my tulips. Hours of pouring over catalogues and planning the perfect display, planting the bulbs in autumn and the anticipation of seeing the fresh growth bursting through in early spring and the result is all rather drab!

On a brighter note, tulips planted at a project I work on in S. London have been a joy! Here we have the gorgeously rich orange ‘Cairo’, the contained rapture of ‘Purple Flag’, the demure ‘Pink Twist’ and the odd dash of ‘Curly Sue’. A much happier combination I feel.

So it’s back to the drawing board for next year for my front garden. I have a friend living with me at the moment who’s an avid Arsenal fan, and she’s requested a red and white display for 2016. So come September, I’ll be plotting away again, and as Doris would say, ‘Que Sera Sera’. (And maybe, just maybe, Arsenal will win the league!)

37 Responses

Why not pick a bunch of those gorgeous chicory leaves and several ‘Curly Sue’ tulips for a vase in the house. In my experience cut tulips last for a good seven days and completely transform a space indoors.

Hi Linda, I think that might be the way to go, as species are more successful at returning in following years. Look forward to seeing how yours fare. Now looking out for gaps to fill for next year! Thanks for very useful comment.

It/s comfortng to read about disappointments. I look after a London Square and we get new tulip bulbs every year in bulk from Parkers and they have been OK but they are not rarities but ried and tested Darwins like Apricot beauty. This year Black Hero, which usually lives up to its name, has this year faded quickly to a sort of pewterish light purple on the outside with creamy edges to the outer petals and almost black inside. We never had any luck with species.

Hi Julie, what a disappointment! But as Daniel (Frustrated gardeners above) said, thankfully there’s always next year!
Yes, pleased my combinations worked for my project as it’s in a courtyard surrounded by many flats and they can all see these jewell like colours for a few weeks.

Well, from here, your tulips look GREAT! A friend of mine in Mississippi, who is a horticulturalist, puts epsom salt around his tomatoes. He said they love it and makes them taste great. I haven’t tried it, but MAYBE I’ll check into it. Worth a shot, huh?

Hi Belmont Rooster, Yes, I’ve used Epsom salts (aka Magnesium sulphate) for my tomatoes a few times when leaves are looking pale and not at their best (due to Magnesium deficiency). You can carefully dilute the salts in water and add to the base of the plant or as a foliar feed, but I’d only do this if the plant is looking unwell!

I think you’re being a bit hard on yourself, but I must admit I’ve gone off the dark tulips such as ‘Queen of Night’. I’ve been a bit disappointed with my tulips in pots too this year – the mixes I bought turned out to be different heights and flowered at different times. However I’ve been really pleased with the tulips in my borders, which include ‘White Trimphator’. And Tulipa clusiana ‘Peppermintstick’ (species tulips) have looked corking for weeks under my apple tree. They’ve grown quite tall and would look great in a border as well : )

Hi Veronica, ‘Peppermintstick’ looks gorgeous and the red and white petals might do very well for my Arsenal themed front garden next year! Or under my pyramid-trained apple tree. Lots of inspiration there!
I still like dark tulips, but I think they need to be grouped with other tulips that will really work well with them.
Hoping to order new metal raised beds soon, so this will give me the impetus to rethink the front garden entirely. Maybe no tulips next year!!

Oh I wondered what the veggies were in the mix Naomi. It is disappointing when planting schemes don’t live up to our expectations but as Veronica suggests perhaps you are being hard on yourself. My tulip combinations never seem to flower at the same time. There’s always one ahead of the rest and/or one lagging well behind. Now a red and white theme would be a perfect choice for Liverpool supporters too 🙂

I seem to have done better with tulips this year than previously. Companion planting that demands active watering helped me remember to keep giving them lots of that.

The Groenlander tulips with which I underplanted a potted tree several years ago flowered as reliably as ever, although I’ve done no more than top-dress their pot with garden compost if there’s space. Even the odd scarlet species tulips in the border behind that have (mostly) flowered, for the first time in years – perhaps because I was assiduously watering a new rhubarb nearby.

The empty soil around a new blackcurrant in a huge tub enticed me to underplant that with two new purchases: a dozen crimson and pale gold tulips (stunning against a backdrop of blooming kerria and forsythia, separated by a dark berberis), plus an inner ring of dark crimson parrot tulips, which flowered later and slightly lower but have taken over the display nicely as the first lot goes over.

Tulips may not normally work well in containers but bigger tubs clearly give them enough root depth and ensure personal attention with the watering-can!

Tulips .. I spent hours deliberating over my tulip choice this year, and am really quite happy with the results which are all single colours – orange, pink, purple which all came from Parkers bulbs. The thing that made me laugh the most was that I think the free ones that came with them are my favorite – huge blooms sort of orange/pink/reddish – and I am not normally that keen on multi coloured tulips. Kindest regards Sally

Hi Sally, It is such fun to experiment and glad to hear that your choices, plus a bit of serendipity, have all worked well together. I found redand yellow ‘Helmar’ rather wild and delightful one year too.

For the arsenal look, go for ‘Marilyn’. She’s a lily flowered, white, flamed red, tall, holds herself very well and looks freshly laundered. I had her in a pot last year with ‘Red Shine’, where I did all but indulged them. I replanted them in the ground this year – out of a sense of duty – because they were of a reasonable size, and I have been rewarded with a ridiculously beautiful display.

‘Red Shine’ matches ‘Marilyn’ in height and timing, and dotted around does stops it looking fluffy and flighty.

I think tulip combos can be really tricky to get right – and getting sent the wrong ones certainly doens’t help! I had that last year, and was gutted, totally ruined my display pots. That project planting is wonderful though – and I will allow the red and white theme as I can always pretend it is Liverpool you are doing it for 😉

Hi Janet, Happy to go with Liverpool as well as the Arsenal!
Have had some fortunate tulip combos in the past, so looking forward to future attempts (despite my moaning) and I also think I’ll take on board Linda’s (above) idea too of more dotting them around the garden. Think Diana’s (also above) Groelander tulips would be ideal for this….

It’s so annoying when you receive the wrong tulips; I’d ordered two red varieties from Sarah Raven this year, Couleur Cardinal and Pimpernel for big tubs either side of my garden arch, but though the Couleur Cardinal are fabulous, the Pimpernel have ended up pink and white! I suspect they are Groenland and very nice, but not quite the impression I wanted to achieve! They have agreed to credit my account towards next year’s display, though. Of the dark tulips, purple Recreado has been stunning this year, but I do think you need sun to show them off at their best, otherwise they can look drab.

Hi Claire, Just reading your comment makes me realise what enjoyment you can have trying to create these riotous colourful combinations for spring. Hope next year’s display is a s joyous as you planned it to be!

Dark purple blooms are the trickiest of any flowers, I reckon. They tend to blend into the background and your mix shows how even an apparent shoo-in like pink in a combination won’t always work. I think adding white to just about any combination is a kind of insurance against mismatch, but it’s not guaranteed or necessarily the effect you want. All part of the fascination of gardening, huh?

Wise words indeed Helen!! These Curly Sues do also seem to be darker than previously (see my header) or was it just that orange Ballerina (plus some glorious Ranunculus) were such a great partners for them?? The fascination (and joy) of gardening-Quite! N x

I think dark tulips (or any flower) need a contrast around them – I could imagine single dark tulips growing out of myosotis or wallflowers. I’m too lazy to plan anything and, two years ago, just planted a bargain mixed bag of colours among the lavender and strawberries here. They came up again this year and the bright colours were certainly eye catching; thankfully, the pinks and reds had faded by the time the yellows came up! Excellent podcast, btw, I really enjoyed it.

HI Caro, yes will definitely be limiting my usage of dark tulips for a while now! I want more colour!!
Glad you enjoyed the podcast. Wonderful to have grown grown 1000 tomato varieties (and to get to name one!).

I can totally relate! I purchased around £155 worth of beautiful tulip varietiy bulbs, some really exotic types and some standard types eg queen of the night . I did all the right things and like yourself, planned and artfully colour coordinated. I waited in anticipation for the maroons, reds and navies to explode this year. I’ve had the most dissspoing display. A few out of the 200 plus bulbs have appeared , dotted here and there . Quite a few have produced contorted foliage , that doesn’t quite look like tulip fire . I have no idea what has gone wrong . Last year I planted tulips in the same spot and they were fine . I’m thinking overcrowding as I have lillies and anemone in same place . Or eelworm ? We don’t really get voles, squirrels etc here. I ordered from Dutch reputable suppliers too( I ordered some from peter nyssen too and I have to say they have twice sent me a mixture of healthy bulbs with rotting/ dried bulbs , not impressed!!).
Anyway, I feel a tad sad sat in my garden in Leeds pondering on what went wrong! It’s the money , anticipation and effort that makes it so dissspoing.